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Formula 1: Can Red Bull Racing still win 2018 championship?

By Asher Fair

MONTMELO, SPAIN - MAY 13: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB14 TAG Heuer leads Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB14 TAG Heuer (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
MONTMELO, SPAIN - MAY 13: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB14 TAG Heuer leads Daniel Ricciardo of Australia driving the (3) Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB14 TAG Heuer (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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After their rocky start to the season, Red Bull Racing seem to have rebounded. Can they still win the 2018 Formula 1 constructor championship?

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner revealed that he believes that the team are still in contention to win the 2018 Formula 1 constructor championship following Max Verstappen’s victory in the Austrian Grand Prix.

Will the Milton Keynes-based team have enough to pull it off?

With nine races in the books and 12 left on the 2018 Formula 1 schedule, Red Bull Racing would appear to be just outside the range of contending for this year’s constructor championship. They currently sit in third place in the constructor standings behind Scuderia Ferrari and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport.

With 189 points, Red Bull Racing trail Ferrari, the team with the lead in the constructor standings, by 58 points (247 to 189), and they trail second place Mercedes by 48 points (237 to 189).

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However, all three of these teams have earned three victories so far this season, so the playing field is far more even that it seems to be based on points alone. Ferrari won the Australian Grand Prix, the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Canadian Grand Prix, while Mercedes won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the French Grand Prix and Red Bull Racing won the Chinese Grand Prix, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Austrian Grand Prix.

In fact, Red Bull Racing are the only one of those three teams that have had both of their drivers win at least one race so far this season. All three of Ferrari’s victories so far this season were earned by four-time champion Sebastian Vettel and all three of Mercedes’ victories so far this season were earned by fellow four-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo earned two of the three victories that Red Bull Racing have earned so far this season, while Max Verstappen earned the other one. Ricciardo currently sits in fourth place in the driver standings with 96 points, while Verstappen sits in fifth with 93.

If not for a disastrous slew of blown opportunities experienced by the team and their drivers so far this season, both of these drivers would have significantly more points than they currently have in the driver standings, which means that Red Bull Racing would have significantly more points than they currently have in the constructor standings as well. This is a key reason why the current constructor championship point totals make the playing field look a lot less even than it really is among the sport’s top three teams.

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Will Red Bull Racing be able to rally from down by 58 points with 12 races to go this season to win their first Formula 1 constructor championship since they won their fourth constructor championship in a row in the 2013 season? As unlikely as it might sound, they may very well have what it takes to get the job done despite the fact that they appear to be just out of striking distance right now.

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